Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CAMDEN, N.J. (April 16, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Camden softball team scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break open a tie game and win the opening contest of its New Jersey Athletic Conference doubleheader against Montclair State University, 6-3, here Saturday.
 
The Red Hawks bounced back in the nightcap, plating eight runs in the first two innings on their way to a 12-3 victory that was called after five innings due to the eight-run rule.
 
The split leaves Rutgers-Camden with a 14-12 record overall and a 5-5 mark in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raptors have split all five of their conference doubleheaders in the same fashion: winning the opener and losing the nightcap.
 
Montclair State is 17-11 overall and 3-7 in the conference. The Red Hawks have won 11 of their last 14 games against the Scarlet Raptors and own a 35-12 lead in the all-time series.
 
Montclair State hosts the College of Staten Island Sunday in a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader. Rutgers-Camden plays a 3 p.m. NJAC doubleheader Tuesday at Rowan University, the 14th-ranked team in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III poll.
   
Senior Brittany Scott (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) hurled a seven-hitter, walking one and allowing only two earned runs as the Raptors won the opening game. She raised her record to 11-7.
 
After Montclair State scored an unearned run in the opening inning, Rutgers-Camden bounced back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, sparked by a leadoff walk to Scott, a bunt single by sophomore second baseman Taylor Nichols (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights) and a walk to senior third baseman Katie Larson (Delran, NJ/Delran), loading the bases. Senior centerfielder Lindsay Day (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) delivered a sacrifice fly to center field and, one out later, sophomore catcher Mackenzie Mason (Penns Grove, NJ/Penns Grove) added an RBI single to center.
 
After the Red Hawks tied the game in the top of the fourth, the Scarlet Raptors took advantage of two hits and three errors in the bottom of the frame to plate four unearned runs. Scott had a two-run double in the frame, while Larson hit a sacrifice fly.
 
Freshman Sam Keating (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) was the tough-luck hurler for the Red Hawks, allowing only five hits. Keating (7-5) walked four, struck out one and surrendered six runs, only two of them earned.
 
The lone batter in the game with multiple hits was MSU freshman first baseman Sam DiClementi (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township), who went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
   
The Red Hawks struck quickly in the nightcap, scoring three times in the top of the first. Two of the runs were plated on a line drive home run to left field by senior pitcher Brooke Powers (Newton, NJ/Pope John XXIII), her sixth homer of the season.
 
Six hits and an error led to five more Montclair State runs in the second inning, which included a two-run single by freshman catcher Lia Stamile (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) and a two-run double from sophomore third baseman Alana Luna (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills).
 
The Red Hawks made it a 12-0 game with four runs in the top of the fifth inning, keyed by four hits, a hit batsman and two intentional walks. Freshman designated player Ali Walek (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany Hills) had a two-run single to cap the frame.
 
Rutgers-Camden broke Powers' shutout bid in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Raptors scored three runs, but couldn't get their deficit under the game-ending eight-run rule. Junior designated player/pitcher Abby Merryman (Washington Township, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and junior shortstop Jalene Garcia (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) both singled and scored on a double by Scott. A single by Larson plated Scott with the final run.
 
Powers (7-5) finished with an eight-hitter, allowing no walks and three earned runs, while fanning one. She also went 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs at the plate, joining Walek (3-for-4, two RBIs) with the most hits in the 15-hit Red Hawk attack.
 
Nichols and Garcia both had two hits for the Scarlet Raptors. For the doubleheader, Nichols went 3-for-7 to lead the Raptors' 13-hit attack.